Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Raise your hand if you spent at least part of today doing prep work or pre-cooking for the big day tomorrow.

Yeah, me too. So far, I've got the Maple Cranberry Sauce made and I just finished my famous (at least amongst my family and friends) Creamy Roasted Garlic Mashers. They are amazing. I don't use a recipe when I make them, but today I measured everything as I threw them together just so I could create a recipe to share with you, dear readers. I can feel the love, can't you?

I'm serving the mashers tomorrow beneath a healthy slathering of Mighty Miso Gravy from How it all Vegan, which makes them even more heavenly. The mashers are definitely delish enough to be nommed without gravy, but it's Thanksgiving and in the American tradition of excess and indulgence, we're gonna go big or go home. Hence, gravy.

Everyone's got their own method for making mashed potatoes. Here's mine:

Creamy Roasted Garlic Mashersmakes about 8 1-cup servings

3 medium heads of garlic, roasted with the cloves removed - yes you read that right, 3 heads, we likes us some garlic preciousssss

4 medium russet potatoes, peeled

4 medium red potatoes, cleaned but not peeled

1 stick or 1/2 cup vegan margarine (Earth Balance)

1/4 cup vegan sour cream (Tofutti)

1/4 cup vegan cream cheese (Tofutti)

1/4 teaspoon (or more) freshly ground nutmeg

salt and pepper to taste

Cut potatoes into equal sizes. I usually quarter the red potatoes and then cut the russets into pieces that are about the same size. You want to do it this way so they cook in the same amount of time.

Boil all the potatoes in salted water until easily penetrated with a fork. The time varies here but start checking them at around 15 minutes boil time. Don't let them stay in the boiling water too long or they'll become water-logged and yicky. Yeah, that's a technical term: yicky. Yuck + Ick = Yicky. Mkay? Moving on.

When they are done, carefully retrieve the potatoes from the water and transfer them into a colander to drain. The tool that I've found works best for this is a spider skimmer but use what you've got. If you must resort to dumping the potatoes along with the water into a colander, just be gentle.

After they are drained, carefully transfer the potatoes into a large bowl. Slice the stick (yup, the whole stick) of vegan margarine into pats and artfully place them all over the surface of the potatoes. Okay, you don't have to get too artistic here because we're about to mix it all up anyway, but I just can't seem to help myself sometimes.

Using a masher, smash the potatoes by hand, mixing the vegan margarine in as you go. They must be mashed by hand. Do not, under any circumstances, take a mixer to your potatoes. You'll be breaking a major cooking Thou Shalt Not and you'll end up with a sticky, gluey mess. It'll be beyond yicky. I'm not even going to use the appropriate word here because my mom reads my blog now. Just take a deep breath, get out your masher and do it by hand.

When they are about half-way mashed, add your vegan sour cream and vegan cream cheese. Continue mashing and mixing keeping in mind that Though Shalt Not Over-Mash Potatoes.

When your potatoes are nearly at your desired consistency (I prefer a chunk here and there for textural interest over perfectly smooth potatoes), add the nutmeg, salt and pepper and give them one last mixing mash.

Taste and adjust the seasonings as necessary. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to nosh.

This recipe can absolutely be tinkered with to suit your personal tastes. If you want "cheesy" tasting mashers, try adding 1/4-1/2 cup of nutritional yeast. Or, if you want to really wow yourself and your diners, substitute a portion or all of your vegan margarine with vegan pesto and eliminate the nutmeg. Pesto Mashers rock the Casbah and are best enjoyed topped with some toasted pine nuts.

I like to use a combination of both russets and red potatoes for my mashers because it makes them creamier. It also allows the inclusion of the skin from the red potatoes, which we totally dig. But, if it's not your thing, peel those along with your russets.

One of the best things about using this recipe for entertaining is that it can be made ahead of time and stowed in your fridge. When you're ready, simply warm it up in an oven-safe dish or in your microwave. It's delicious and so decadently creamy thanks to the combination of potatoes, egregious amount of vegan margarine, and addition of vegan sour cream and cream cheese. If you're watching fat and calories, make adjustments accordingly.

KL Grady: Thanks! If you ever give it a go, you'll have to let me know how awesome I am, k? ;)

Courtney: Thank you! It feels good to be posting again. It's *hard* to keep a food blog when you're trying to lost weight b/c you (or at least I) eat the same things over and over again. I'm hoping to get back into blogging though, because I really do enjoy it. And now this isn't just a food blog. I've expanded it to encompass almost all the things that keep me busy and hope to track the redecoration of my home on the cheap over the next year or so. Fingers crossed. Anyhow, hope your Thanksgiving was marvelous.

Debra: Thanks and I hope your Thanksgiving was happy as well. I'll check out the cookbook giveaway later today.

dreaminitvegan: :) Thanks! We had a wonderful holiday! I'm hoping to blog more about it over the next few days. I hope your T-Day was fantastic as well.

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About Me

I'm a 30-something year-old college student, vegan, animal rights activist, crafter, obsessive DIY'er, artist, student of the Morningstar Mystery School and Kali Vidya, and author. I meditate every day, make my own booze, and love zombies. You know, just the standard girl next door.